A Tolkien scholar writes about how he fought off a lawsuit from the Tolkien Estate: I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and put my research skills to work on my defense. Unfortunately, the case law was sparse. The only similar case I found was The Estate of S. Morgenstern v. William Goldman over the latter’s […]

Jacqueline Woodson responds to Daniel Handler’s racist watermelon joke at the National Book Awards with a moving and direct piece in the New York Times. She neither condemns nor forgives Handler, but instead focuses on her personal history with the watermelon joke, the positive direction of diversity in publishing, and her mission in writing: This […]

Daniel Handler’s (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket) recent racist joke at the National Book Awards exposed an uncomfortable truth about the American publishing industry: its overwhelming whiteness. For the industry to survive, it must embrace diversity. Over at the Guardian, Carole DeSanti points out that regardless of changes in the business of publishing, what matters is the […]

Still hyped up from Beast Crawl and counting down the days until San Francisco’s Lit Crawl in October? Then you’ll want a ticket to Lit Tease, LitQuake’s preview/fundraiser event for the highlight of their annual festival, happening tonight. Tickets are $20 apiece (with discounted drinks), which seems well worth the price for a night of […]

Food, drink, fortune-telling, live music…is there anything about the release party for Michelle Tea’s new novel that doesn’t sound amazing? The book is Mermaid in Chelsea Creek, new from McSweeney’s McMullens; the refreshments are pierogi, chocolate, and cocktails; and the entertainment includes Annah Anti Palindrom, Daniel Handler, and of course, Tea herself. Tickets are only $20, so you […]

That turned out to be a very fortunate pitch for Lemony Snicket. The Chronicle reports on Daniel Handler, San Francisco native and future contributor to Letters for Kids. Topics discussed include: a childhood at the library, Occupy Wall Street, mixed messages from parents, and a status as “the quippiest.”

This week in New York, BookExpo America (BEA) kicks off, and this year with a new feature: New York Book Week–events that are open to the public. Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) discusses and serves up cocktails, Timothy Donnelly and Matthew Rohrer read, Melissa Auf der Maur performs, Al Maysles and DA Pennebaker talk documentaries, […]

“There were seven references to Sidney Peterson and his experimental 1947 film The Cage in David Foster Wallace’s novel Infinite Jest.” Alan over at Dennis Cooper’s blog shares what he found out about the movie. This is what happens when you ask Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) to sign your Kindle. “HULK WISH HULK WAS […]

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